hoof supplement question

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Finlib

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My T/B mare who is in her is twenties isn't growing much foot and it is not that good quality .
This normally improves in summer when the grass comes through. However the farrier is having troube keeping front shoes on her (only shod in front)
I am wondering whether to give her a hoof supplement (I know it takes months to get right though) But thought I would start now and perhaps keep it up over next winter
However she has a slow growing keratoma in one of her front feet which was found when she was xrayed for arthritis 5 years ago .It has been monitored and is very slow growing.
Due to her age the recover time and the position of it I will not have it removed.
It may seem a silly question but will feeding anything containing keratin biotin etc have any effect on the growth of the keratoma.
I have taken advise about barefoot and it really isn't an option for her.
She is retired and in very good body contition I just need to help her keep shes on.
I know her days are numbered but she is happy and healthy (apart from foot problems when she looses shoes)so I would like to help her
 
Why does she have shoes on if she's retired? and why can't she go barefoot?

My 21 year old had terrible feet three years ago; I decided to go bare with him. He is fed Kwikbeet, magnsiuim oxide and linseed, his feet are brillaint now, never has any chips/cracks but I do boot him on the fronts for roadwork, which he wears without any problems.( We did an 8 mile pleasure ride yesterday )

I know a lot of people feed biotin, I think it takes a good 6 months to start working though
 
The answer to every foot thing seems to be go barefoot
She cannot go barefoot
The keratoma causes a huge crack in her hoof which accomodates the keratoma reducing pressure in the foot which is a closed box Without the crack the pressure in the foot accomodating the keratoma would be huge.
The crack opens up dreadfully if not held together with shoesand would therefore cause her a lot of pain with debrit going up into the crack.
She has rotated pedal bones (NOT due to laminitis)very flat feet and coffin bone arthritis.
Before we knew of the keratoma. I perservered with barefoot for 2 years adjusting diet, trimming, hoof boots(4 different types) etc etc .
In the end after extensive xrays seen by an experienced vet and my farrier they both decided it was put on specially made surgical shoes or shoot her.I decided to shoe her and for the last 2 years she has been the best she has been field sound even able to go out for walks
She has managed to pull off a shoe a fortnight since Christmas.
Believe me with the cost of the shoes and foot care if I COULD have her barefoot I would it just isn't possible.
 
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Oh ok am with you now!!

I know of people who have used Formula 4 Feet with good results, I think its one of those trial and error things tbh. Good luck with your horse
 
Before you go spending loads of money on ‘wonderful things that will do everything’ I would beg you to find out if there is anything lacking that could promote horn consistency.
I am thinking here of magnesium and other minerals that might help in tissue production
Please remember that it is not hoof growth that we farriers look for, but horn quality, even when I was shoeing I was more concerned about the horn being able to back-up the biomechanics than I was about how fast it was growing.
In fact as soon as a horse is shod the hoof starts to grow FORWARDS thus starting the process of making the foot unbalanced , so if you do get the foot to grow quicker then it only increases the problem.
Although I now have 99% barefoot referrals I fully see and support your reasons for shoeing and I am sure your farrier is doing everything he/she can do relieve any pain, for what it is worth I have 3 clients with horses that have keratomas, 2 of which have been improving all-be -it very slowly the third we have no change but is stable.
 
Thanks moorman .My farrier is trying to balance the foot and bring her off her heels and generally get the weight bearing distributed.
My grazing is good quality and testing does not reveal any massive gaps. I think the problem is when the grass isn't growing then she starts to lack some vits and minerals .The hay I feed is good quality meadow hay made of our own land so is the same quality as the grass I guess.
She is an extraordinarly good doer and looks really really well body condition wise coming out of the winter so I am reluctant to feed her hard feed as I don't want to pile weight on her.It of course won't help her feet carrying excess weight.
I have now got a bag of low cal baileys balancer which they assure me should boost vits and mins without piling on weight.
She was fed a Baileys stud balancer when she was in foal and nursing her foal and did very well on it needing very little else in the way of hard feed until the month of foaling and for only 3 months after.
Does old age mean they metabalise vits and minerals less well or maybe it is a winter thing as even though they are out on grass of course it isn't like summer grass.
 
my boy has a crack running from top to bottom on his front foot (coronary band injury ) and i've had him on equimins biotin plus for about 18months and everytime my farrier shoes him we can see from the piece of hoof that he snips off that it's actually begining to grow out , from the inside out and he reckons alot of it is down to the suppliment , i think it's brilliant also i've tried formula4feet on another horse with a crack and it made no difference whatsoever , but alot of it IMO is down to how well your horse can absorb these products in the first place and a lack of good growth be it foot or body / muscle may be an indication of absorbstion problems rather than a lack of good stuff going in - if you get my drift!
 
My pony had really bad feet when I got him and I was advised to put him on a hoof supplement. This did help but what made the biggest difference to him was after he had a tendon injury I used Tendoneaze. Whether this helped the tendon or not is debatable but I did notice his hoofs looked amazing. I stopped using the Tendoneaze but as its active ingredient seems to be MSM I thought I'd try giving him that so he's now been on MSM plus Biotin for the last 6 months and his hoofs still look amazing. Totally accidental (and after trying several hoof supplements) but my pony now has the best feet he's ever had - my farrier is suitably impressed :)
 
Horselib, quite a few problems in the older horse are due to gut damage, this is very common and as long as the gut is not put under strain then will be no great problem.
Be careful with soluble foods (nuts etc) as the rear gut is better when it is working on braking down fibre.
I know its not a popular thing to say but please watch the weight, I reckon over 80% of the referrals I have had over my life have been weight related .
For ‘Good doer’ read Bad doer! Overweight horses have more problems getting good blood circulation in the foot.
It is amazing how horn quality can improve when the horse is given drugs for other problems, this will often be due to the improvement in circulation.
I find it more concerning that the supply was poor in the first place, therefore the best place to start when looking for an improvement is in getting the system working well naturally
 
Anything that can effect the blood will eventually get to all areas that have a supply.
Unfortunately one of the worst things about a keratoma is that it has a very good often independent blood supply.
In 38 years I have never recommended any hoof preparation,, spread on, soaked, smeared, fed or otherwise, the reason being a healthy horse with good balanced feet will always produce good quality horn.
 
Thanks Moorman
I do keep her weight down now she has retired.
She gets fibre in the form of hay every day as I feed hay all year around .In spring and summer I have them on a large area the size of an outdoor school with a pole barn 75ft by 20 feet deep to keep them away from the flies and sun.
I open up the gate to grass at around 5pm then they have the choice to have grass if they want.Hay is put out in the pole barn every morning.

I don't now how you ascertain gut problems but she has never shown hind gut issues always wormed as appropriate and worm counted (getting a zero count)
I have had her since she was 2 and from birth she was with a very good friend who bred her (she was bred to race) and owned her mother.

She has never shown any sign of discomfort in the way she rode and has never shown any colic symtons in her life .She has always been a healthy good natured soul very even tempered and a joy to ride and handle.
 
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